Tom D:
You asked me ...
"What can they add, from your perspective? Do you think a relatively "soft" hole has merit if it can bite you in the ass when you go to sleep on the tee shot or the approach (but not both)? Or if it might cause you to let down your guard for the next hole in the chain?"
For starters, I don't like the term "breather holes" -- it conveys a clear sense of a "less" situation. I much prefer "change of pace" hole because it makes it a point to go in a different direction / form than the hole or holes that preceded it. No doubt an architect must determine what part of the land will be used for what type of holes. I give architects of immense talent a big time salute because fitting certain holes into the available land that is there is never easy. You have to accomodate any number of important items -- the golf course being just one of them.
When I see a course throw forward a series of strong holes -- I can only hope the architect will be smart enough to realize that change of pace holes are not per se weaker or easier holes but ones that test a different part of one's game. No doubt some courses offer breather holes that are mudane and quite honestly fairly boring to play. Pebble Beach has a few of these types of holes, as a case in point.
Tom, I often use the metaphor of a great baseball pitcher as a great analogy to what I am talking about. In baseball you have guys who can only throw blazing heat. They have not become "pitchers'" in any real definition of the word. Great design can mix it up -- the so-called "breather" hole may appear to be "easy" but the skillful architect is never one to allow such an experience to be just filler between the really outstanding holes. No course, save for the very few ahve bulletproof 18 holes. It's tough to do without the right piece of property, the best of ownership and the most talented of architects. However, if I hear the term "breather" it simply means to me that a lessening of the golf experience is happening. That doesn't mean to say the experience in playing such a course is lessened considerably but it does mean to me that the overall experience is indeed a notch or two below what could be.
Architects are no doubt in the hot seat because they often use "breather holes" as the bridge element to get to the better piece of land in order to deliver even more outstanding holes. I often rate any course not from the total amount of stellar holes but how many inferior ones does it possess and if it does have such holes -- how were they designed and where do they fit in to the total experience when playing.